Thursday, September 12, 2013

A gay man’s intimacy with Christ is expressed in new art and writing by Richard Stott, a Methodist minister and art therapist in Sheffield, England.

Three large paintings that unite sexuality and spirituality emerged from Stott’s prayer life and meditations on the medieval Christian mystics, especially the poem “The Dark Night of the Soul” by Saint John of the Cross.

“They reach towards the experience of a deep and intimate engagement with Christ. They are not about sex per se but there is an erotic aspect to them. Sexual desire, our desire for the other, to be close to them and entwined with them is, to my mind, an echo of our desire for God and God’s desire for us. In the Christian tradition that is expressed in God coming close to us in the body of Christ,” Stott writes.

His first reflection is reprinted below in full, followed by summaries of his other two essays. Images have been cropped for a general audience. The paintings are oil and gold leaf on canvas, measuring approximately 24 by 31 inches.

Recently I have been stunned by a famous poem by St John of the Cross from his work ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’. In the poem he writes of a spiritual encounter that is deep, beyond words and expresses it in the sensual language of physical intimacy:

Wind blew down from the tower,
Parting the locks of his hair.
With his gentle hand
He wounded my neck
And all my senses were suspended.

I lost myself. Forgot myself.
I lay my face against the Beloved’s face.
Everything fell away and I left myself behind,
Abandoning my cares
Among the lilies, forgotten.

When I read these words echoing down through the years from this 16th Century Spanish mystic I was cut to the heart as they resonate so strongly with my experience of Christ.

I need to take care here as I don’t want to universalise my experience, to imply that everyone should have the same kind of encounter. For some people the idea of relating to Christ at all is unhelpful. Furthermore, many people who do seek to engage with him may very well not do so in the same way as me and nor should they because we each need to work out our own way of engaging with the world and the transcendent. So take my reflections as what they are: the particular experience of a gay Christian using contemplative prayer to engage with Jesus.

One of the key ideas in Christianity, that the church often doesn’t realise the full implications of, is that Jesus had a body. This faith isn’t about some vague spiritual thing wafting around but is about material things and is expressed in a real human body (And whether the stories of Jesus are historically factual or not is irrelevant to me on this because the truth expressed in the myth* of the gospel stories is that the Christian faith is about a real body).

If Jesus had a body then he had blood, mucus, hormones and all kinds of dirty, messy and beautiful things that make us human. He had drives and desires and was a sexual being. When I first thought of this it seemed scandalous to me. I was in a little Catholic Church on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I looked up at the sculpture of Jesus on the cross, his beautiful body twisted and taut in pain or ecstasy and I felt desire for him, a desire for the body of Christ. I wanted to touch his body and be touched by him, to possess him and be possessed by him and in that mutual possession be transformed. I had unwittingly stumbled on and tentatively touched that deep and sensuous spiritual experience expressed by St John of the Cross.

Over the last few months I have been working on some very personal paintings that explore this experience of Jesus and I will offer reflections on each of them over the next few weeks. I share them with some trepidation as it feels like I’m exposing something of my soul but it seems to me that the artists journey is a continual breaking oneself open as we seek to express truths that lie beyond the reach of words.

The golden numinous in each of the paintings is reminiscent of orthodox Christian icons. Icons are not used as idols or objects of worship but are windows to look through so that we may glimpse the divine. I hope these paintings may, in a small way, be windows that open up our horizons and the possibilities of understanding ourselves and of the beautiful transcendent reality that I find embodied in the person of Jesus.

*myth is not a pejorative term but means a story that expresses a truth – often universal truths about human nature and experience
_____________

That concludes Stott’s first essay. Use the following links for his reflections on the other two paintings in his “Intimacy with Christ” triptych.

“You are in me and I am in you by Richard Stott explores how the risen Christ invited his friend Thomas to confirm the resurrection by touching his wounds. In another part of the Bible Christ promised “an intimate and passionate intertwining.” This embodied faith is also reflected in a prayer by Symeon the New Theologian.

“Lover and beloved moved in unison” by Richard Stott looks at sexual desire as “one of the tributaries of the soul that leads to the wider desire for God.” This yearning is expressed in the Eucharist, the poetry of John of the Cross, and the ecstasy of Teresa of Avila.

Eric, you can tell that Ric Stott’s art reminded me of you because I included a link to your reflection at the end. I was hoping that you would find this piece and love Ric’s art as much as I do. Thanks for being part of the “nexus.”

(am a woman) my own bro is gay,i have nothing against gay people,but as a mystical bride with erotic visions and experiences with christ,i wonder about this,since a man becomes the erotic christ image and a woman the erotic image of the church?songs of solomon,i find this not a good idea,because only womans had meet our lord in erotic ways,and mans like padre pio and st francis became christ image and theyre love was more like man to a woman,in my experiences and beliefs,am not here to juge i love art but am looking for real mystics like me of this time,so to explain me more about our lord s will...simple as that,if you wish to acept my block am greatful if not its ok if delated i carry on my search,sorry for my poor english have a lovely day

I thank the anonymous woman who reached across language barriers to try to communicate about what is so hard to put into words: mystical marriage with Christ. I understand that in your experience this takes heterosexual form, with a male Christ bonding erotically with a female soul or church. However male mystics also experience Christ as their bridegroom. Famous saints in this category include John the Evangelist and Bernard of Clairvaux. I just heard about a new book that explores the theme through art and historical writings : “Saintly Brides and Bridegrooms: The Mystic Marriage in Renaissance Art” by Carolyn D. Muir. Female mystics have also had homoerotic visions of Mary. I believe that God is beyond gender and thus can engage in mystical marriages that we perceive as homosexual, heterosexual or omnigendered.

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Kittredge Cherry is a lesbian Christian author and art historian. She founded Jesus In Love in 2005 to support LGBT spirituality and the arts. She was ordained by Metropolitan Community Churches, an LGBT-affirming Christian denomination, and served as its National Ecumenical Officer.

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Jesus in Love supports lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer (LGBTQ) spirituality, with an emphasis on art and literature. It promotes artistic and religious freedom and teaches love for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. It is based on these beliefs: God loves all people, including sexual minorities. The creative process is sacred. The queer visions, especially the gay Jesus and LGBT saints, will free people to experience the divine in new ways and lead to a more just world. Jesus in Love was founded by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry as her personal project.It is her gift to the world. Many thanks to everyone who supports her vision.

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